In other words, no matter how much the Fed and the Administration try to flog the economy, nothing has really worked. As much as Bernanke boasted about being able to prevent another depression, he and the Bush-Obama Administrations have done everything they could to make things worse. And the classic indicators of a depression are still playing out and reminding us of the inefficacy and incompetence of conventional economic wisdom.

Comparing between countries we see that the poorest 5% of Americans are among the richest people in the world (richer than nearly 70% of other people in the world). The poorest 5% of Americans, for example, are richer than the richest 5% of Indians.

Why do so many conservatives distrust Uncle Sam when it meddles at home, but trust it when it meddles abroad? Why do so many “progressives” trust Uncle Sam when it meddles at home, but distrust it when it meddles abroad?

In 1776 the feeding of every 100 Americans required the work of 90 Americans. Today the feeding of every 100 Americans requires the work of only 2 Americans. And yet we are today more abundantly fed than at any time in the past.

There are those who argue that now is not the time to cut government deficits, because that would be contractionary. My reaction on cutting back both bloated banking and bloated deficits: if not now, when?